Thoben, Weber, Pawar: 7th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising 27-29 June 2001 273

Knowledge Fusion in the Business

Information Environment: a Concept and
Major Technologies
Alexander V. Smirnov
St.Petersburg Institute for Informatics and Automation of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
39, 14th Line, St.-Petersburg, 199178, Russia, smir@mail.iias.spb.su

Abstract
Currently knowledge-dominated economy tends to shift from “capital-intensive business environment” to
“intelligence-intensive business environment”. This trend requires using a business information environment
(BIE), including end-users/customers and loosely coupled knowledge sources/resources (experts, knowledge
bases, repositories, e-documents, etc.) for decision-making. A knowledge fusion is based on the synergistic use
of knowledge from multiple sources. The paper discusses a concept of a knowledge fusion approach and its
major technologies.

Keywords
business information environment, knowledge fusion, UML-based modelling

1 Introduction
Knowledge is a critical resource for any activity. To capitalise on knowledge,
organisation/end-user has to organise and manage it in a creative and useful way. As a result
new information technologies, such as product date management and knowledge
management, are increasingly used for the purpose [FIPA 1998; ISO TC 184/SC 5/WG 1
1997; MESA 1998; NIIIP 1994; NIST 1999; Smirnov, Chandra 2000; Smirnov, Chandra
2001].
The move from EDI to Internet-based communications systems requires a change in business
paradigms, while the traditional thinking about business involves people, processes, and
technologies. e-Business considers two more factors: infrastructure and strategy. One of the
major constraints to the widespread acceptance of e-business communities is the difficulty of
collectively bringing together many disparate industry competitors, non-industry players, and
other participants / units, and ensuring a common level of knowledge, understanding, and
commitment. e-Business communities require co-operation and an open exchange of
information among all participants. As a result, there is a need to develop a cost-effective
approach to Knowledge Source Network (KSNet) configuration (called “knowledge fusion,
KF”) in a scalable BIE used for global awareness, dynamic planning and global information
exchange. KSNet is a complex set of relationships between people, processes and
technologies bound together with cultural norms, like mentoring and knowledge sharing,
which constitute an organisation’s social capital.

2 Knowledge Fusion Concept

KF is being integrated into scalable BIE for two principal areas: (i) customer KF supports
traditional activities with on-line sources and uses a customer profiles, and (ii) KF portals
support shared knowledge, an inventory management of the internal and external knowledge
sources represented in people and infrastructure.
274 Knowledge Management

Advanced characteristics of knowledge-source organisations include:

• Velocity. An organisation constantly seeks for the ways to reduce and/or compensate
for variability in customer/user demand and suppliers/sources. This could involve
negotiations with multiple suppliers and elimination of inefficiencies in the
information processes.
• Flexibility. Organisation leaders must be ready for sudden changes in target problem
demand. The organisation maintains its flexibility by keeping minimal information
volume in the sources.
• Customisability. The maintenance service must be ready to build any possible
configuration of knowledge domain model that the uncertain customer/user requests.
The term KSNet has its origin in the concept of virtual organisation / enterprises [IMTR
1999; NIST 1999; Smirnov 1999, Golm, Smirnov 2000] based on the synergistic use of
knowledge from multiple sources [Holsapple, Singh 2001; Preece et al. 2000; Smirnov
2001]. A KSNet can be defined as a flexible connection of appropriate knowledge sources at
different locations with the goal to fulfil a concrete task, the decision making of a task in a
determined volume, cost liimits and time. The consortium exists for a predefined period of
time. The network becomes real when a concrete realisation takes place or at least the
necessary budget is endorsed. During the planning phase until the offer is ratified the KSNet
represents a planning task in order to design and evaluate potential scenario solutions for the
decision making of a task. Figure 1 explains roughly the basic concept of the KSNet. An
effective KSNet is characterised by (i) increased connectivity between its partners-units
(knowledge sources) and (ii) alignment of its inter-organisational support systems, and (iii)
sharing of knowledge resources among its partners / units.

G H
Knowledge Source
B Network
F K
A
D
I
E
C
• Knowledge Bases
• Experts
• Repositories
• Tools Elements of the Network

G H G H
B
F K F K
A D
I I
X E E Unit 2 ... Unit n
C
Unit 1
Outsourcing
Competitors
G HG
B B B
K F F K
A D A DA D
I I I
E C C E
Partner 1 Partner 2 Partner n

Figure 1: Distributed multi-level knowledge fusion as KSNet configuration,

adapted from [Golm, Smirnov 2000]
Major KF functions could be determined as (i) communication, (ii) co-ordination, (iii)
collaboration, and (iv) common/shared memory. This set of functions could be realised by
using the following technologies [Smirnov 2001]: (i) direct knowledge entry by domain
experts (based on GUI, complex object cloning, and object-oriented template library), (ii)
knowledge repository parallel development by distributed teams (based on automatic change
propagation and conflict negotiation), (iii) knowledge sharing by knowledge maps (based on
Thoben, Weber, Pawar: 7th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising 27-29 June 2001 275

reusable ontology theory and distributed constraint satisfaction technology), and (iv)
distributed uncertain knowledge management (based on object-oriented fuzzy dynamic
constraint networks as a shared ontology paradigm).

3 UML-Based Business Environment Domain Model as a Information

Kernel of Knowledge Fusion
The above concept is limited to designing “product-process-resource” systems (PPR
systems) and focused on utilising the GERAM [ISO TC 184/SC 5/WG 1 1997] and MES
[MESA 1998] concepts. It is based on applying the GERAM methodology and enables
forming the conceptual model of the PPR system environment as depicted in Figure 2. This
could be accomplished by object-oriented modelling (UML-based modelling) of the product,
process, and resource components to satisfy manufacturing & management constraints in its
environment. The implementation of MES approach is based on the shared information
environment that supports the PPR model used for integration and co-ordination of real-time
user’s (unit's) activity.
In Figure 2 “Facility” is a super-object for description of relationship between “Product”,
“Process”, and “Resource”; “Resource” describes manufacturing system, and “User” selects
/ defines the object instances. For example, the UML-based model divides the resource
management system into four levels: factory, line, machine and machine sub-elements. Grey
boxes indicate PPR system’s entities; white ones are subjects of resource management.
<super class>
1 Facility
Shift 1..* User
Facility_Name:<List>
Shift_ID Time (Start, End) User_ID
1 1 1

1..* 1..*
Resource 1..* 0..*
Process
1..* + User
Resource _Type 1..*
1..* Process _ID
Resource_ID Product
0..* + User
{hierarchy} Product _ID {hierarchy}
+ Constraints 0..* + Constraints
{hierarchy}

1
Business Process 1 Process Operation 1 Step
Process_Type 1..* Operation _T ype 1..*
B_Process_Name 1..* Step _Type
Process_Name Operation _Name Step_Name
B_Process_ID
Process_ID Operation _ID Step _ID
B_Process_Structure
Process_Structure Operation_Structure

1
Factory 1 Line 1 M achine Sub_Element
Factory_Place Line_T ype Machine _Type
1..* 1..* 1..* Sub_Elements _Type
Factory_Name Line_Name Machine _Name
Sub_Elements _Name
Factory_ID Line_ID Machine _ID
Sub_Elements _ID
Factory_Configuration Line_Configuration Machine_Configuration

Figure 2: A hierarchical PPR subject domain model

4 Conclusion
In the face of globalisation within business and increasing worldwide competition, producers
and their suppliers/dealers/partners recognise the need to invest in new knowledge
management technologies to maintain business information environment. Knowledge fusion
is one of the possible ways to make these activities more effective.

Acknowledgements
This research would have never succeeded without the contribution from the programmer’s group of the
laboratory of computer-aided integrated systems of the institute. Some industry-oriented components of the
276 Knowledge Management

above approach have been developed for the project “Affordable Cost Structure”, supported by a grant from
Ford Motor Company.

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